我们无法期望福禄培尔对婴儿感觉器官有太多的认识；不过现代福禄培尔幼儿园教育法的拥护者若能丢弃他那毫无根据的预测和陈腐的科学，他们将能更好的传扬福禄培尔几近救世主式的灵感。其字句叫人死，其精义却使人活，正是这个意思。

中国基督教网站-神学论坛
安波罗修经常引用《哥林多后书》3章6节“字句是叫人死，精意是叫人活”采用灵意解经来 解决圣经的难题。所以奥古斯丁在早期的时候，在他所写的著作中认为“字句”就是字意解 经，“精意”就是灵意解经。但是后来他就自己纠正了，他说《哥林多后书》3章6节不应该用 ...
www.chineseprotestantchurch.org/ Theological-Forum/200407-2.htm

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Note added at 51 mins (2006-04-11 06:33:24 GMT)
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http://mizii.com/jesusi/authors/crosby/tolstoy/school14.html
The study of words is not education. It is the letter that killeth but the spirit giveth life, and it is the worship of the letter that deforms education east and west; it is the dry-rot of the book exalted above the thought and the thing. The monks of old, shut up in their libraries and far away from the real life of the times -- well might they spend years in decorating parchment scrolls with their beautiful flourishes, but they are no guides for us to-day.

从上下文看，大致意思是：不要照搬书本，而要真心信奉圣灵(Spirit)。
参看Corinth 2的：You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.（你们明显是基督的信，借着我们修成的。不是用墨写的，乃是用永生神的灵写的。不是写在石版上，乃是写在心版上。）

Originally from the Bible but now in general use:

2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also made us sufficient as servantsFor the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. (WEB) who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for ...
bible.cc/2_corinthians/3-6.htm - 8k - Cached - Similar pages

it is referring to an idiom about 'the letter and the spirit of the law'.
observing the letter of the law means obeying all the rules (words), observing the spirit of the law means understanding the principles and following them

Background:
Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of his day for narrow and legalistic interpretations of the religious laws, and he brought a new gospel (= message) of the spirit (= intention) of the Law (= God's Law).

->
the letter = 符合某某主义的一词一句
the spirit = 符合某某主义的基本精神

More background:
The apostle Paul's letters (the Epistles) - the Letter to the Corinthians is one of them - develop Jesus' message (as given in the Gospels).

I think my Chinese 'translation' is very unidiomatic, 不好意思.

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Note added at 2 days22 hrs (2006-04-14 03:51:41 GMT)
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The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life

-> Observing the letter of the law kills but observing the spirit of the law gives life.

'kill' and 'give life' 作为比喻? 意思是'精神的死亡/生活'?